Post- Competition Worries

[LisaRD23]

Last year I did ok with the post comp blues...I was a little down and disappointed because of my placing but after the 1st week I started to get over it and I was OK. I stood lean for the rest of the summer and I kept my BF around 18-19% the entire off season while working on making new gains.

I'm a bit worried about what it's going to be like after my show this time though. I am trying to plan ahead. We even have a trip to DR sheduled 4 weeks after show time, so that is motivation to keep my shit together.

But this prep was so much more difficult (personal,family,professional) than last year and I am just so scared of stepping off stage this Saturday asking myself "Geeze...all this...was it really worth it?"

[goworkout]

know matter what happens it was worth it

[Melissa]

I have found that easing into an offseason plan (both diet and training-wise) has helped me transition from the whole pre-contest phase. This might sound rediculous, but I usually start to plan my offseason a few weeks before my show. And to be completely honest, that seems to help me stay focused on the show because I know that I have a "safety net" to land on once I step off that stage, and I worry less about having a post-show meltdown. Since I'm pretty OCD, I've found that the more scheduled and planned I am for when I step off that stage, the more I seem to enjoy the entire dieting process, pre and post-show.

As far as whether or not you feel like competing was "worth" it, I think that's something that you really won't know until you actually reflect on the entire process. I think anyone that's competed for any length of time will agree that some contest preps are more stressful than others. A good friend once said to me that there's no perfect or ideal time to diet...there will always be something that comes up and poses some type of challenge (sometimes good, sometimes not so good). Life still happens when you're getting ready for a show, and you have to figure out how to make the diet/training fit, not vice versa.

Good luck with the rest of your prep!